Success tip: Follow the leader…but which one? Choosing successful leadership
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
I was listening to a radio show, and the question was posed. If you could have as your marital counselor, one of two people equally wonderful, intelligent and committed, but one has gone through a divorce, and one has had a happy marriage since day one; which would you choose as your marital therapist?
The answer was the one that has gone through a divorce. The people who have had a happy marriage from day one aren’t in a position to be able to empathize with the pains that a marriage with problems goes through.
The divorced therapist can understand marital problems in a way that no one else can. There’s a familiarity with the pain and the complexities, with the struggle, the setbacks and the wanting to give up. There’s also an insight as to how to help the couple in marriage get to where they need to go, or whether to truly move on.
I can relate to that scenario, not only in marriage but in business. I’ve been through a couple of MLM companies, and I’ve noticed something. There are usually two types of leaders.
1) The spit and polished leader who has the Midas touch – everything he’s ever touched has turned to gold, he had unlimited resources, and he’s a polished speaker
2) The guy who’s crawled through glass after failing over and over, and has become a success because he simply never quit.
Who would you choose? Many people choose spit and polished without a thought. But, like the marital therapist, can he relate to the masses? Is he able to inspire and teach from his perspective?
Most people get into direct selling because they’re looking for massive change in their lives. They know there has to be a better way, and on paper direct selling makes sense, at least it does on those shiny power point presentations, and they give a good pitch at the god awful home meetings. (Note – home meetings can be useful and have their place; they’re just not for me nor would I want to teach someone to do something I myself don’t want to do.)
Unfortunately, most people quit from impatience and frustration. In the end, the average person finds out they don’t have the Midas touch that old Spit and Polish has. He can’t relate nor empathize. He simply works the numbers.
Now let’s talk about the Glass Crawler, Crawl for short (anyone remember that movie character?) Crawl is a different type of leader. He’s going to tell you his pain and his struggle. He’ll share what he went through, the times he’s failed, and ultimately the moment he succeeded. He understands what it takes to start from nothing with limited resources. He also understands, however, the level of commitment and the attitude necessary to succeed.
He won’t b.s. you into a pipe dream. Success is available to those willing to pay the price.
Mark Yarnell wrote the definitive book on network marketing, “Your First Year in Network Marketing”. He states “In traditional business, things may just happen, but in network marketing, success comes to those who make things happen.”
Crawl knows what it takes for the average person to make things happen. In fact, he can appeal to the person with the highest level of pain and help bring them up. Why? Because he’s been there himself. And he’s now wise enough to teach success tip shortcuts if you’re starting from the bottom.
If you’ve failed in network marketing, look back at the leadership. Was he a good fit for you? Could you relate to him, and not just to the product, or did you, like many, get starry eyed at the spit and polish?
As a successful leader, share your story and share your success. Tell a story, not a lecture. People want to be touched, to laugh with you; they don’t want to be lectured. We get enough of that in a daily dose. Be prepared for your crawl through the glass. I’ll tell you a story about my mom next time.